Townships Seek To Rid Shoreline Of Pesky Weed 2-17-2011

A couple of mid-Michigan communitys have banded together to battle a pesky invasive weed.Kawkawlin and Fraser townships in Bay County will spend money to get rid of phragmites from the Linwood scenic point on the Saginaw Bay."This is supposed to be a scenic point park out here, and [due to] the phragmites, it's not very scenic," said Kawkawlin Township supervisor Dennis Bragiel.The tall reeds, or as many people call them  weeds, are phragmites.The invasive vegetation is seen all around the Saginaw Bay. Phragmites can grow as tall as 10 feet high. They have choked off boat launches so that they're unusable in the summertime. It's also impossible to see any wildlife on the bay through the weeds.Kawkawlin and Fraser townships are working together to get rid of the phragmites. They will split a $10,000 bill, and over the course of three years, hope to have the area clear of the phragmites."They are root growing, so the tumors that are in the ground, that'll come up next year, said Bragiel. You'll have to spray them again the second year then the third year. They're telling us after three years we can just do some monitoring to see if there's any spot killing that needs to be done after that."Kawkawlin Township officials also plan on applying for state grants to install boardwalks at the scenic point to make it more user-friendly.Some ice anglers who were preparing to go out on the bay are all for getting rid of the phragmites.It turns out you probably won't find too many people who like phragmites, not even hunters. "At our meeting, we had somebody from Ducks Unlimited say they thought that was a good nesting place for ducks and stuff, but according to them, even the ducks don't like them," said hunter Mike McConnohie, from Sparta, Mich.If the townships have their way, ducks and humans won't have to deal with phragmites along the shore in three years.

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White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, right, stands with Ivanka Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Thursday, March 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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